New Bliss: A memoir Play by Keith Donald

Keith Donald’s career in music spans five decades. A renowned saxophonist and clarinet player, Keith is best known as founding member of seminal Irish traditional band Moving Hearts.

In a career that has spanned over five decades, Keith has played on over eighty albums and worked with artists including Van Morrison, Christy Moore, Ronnie Drew and Louis Stewart, among many others.

Earlier this year Keith published his book Music and Mayhem which charts the immersive and explosive life of Keith Donald, one of Ireland’s most important musicians, plus the golden decade of Irish music that he was at the very centre of.

For more than thirty years, Keith’s musical career was blighted by addiction. Twenty years after getting sober, Keith sat down and wrote New Bliss, a one-man play which is an unflinching and emotional look back at his life and his desperate battle with alcoholism. It combines Keith’s words, verse and music to tell the story of his journey from addiction to redemption.

"NewBliss, a memoir play, takes its audience on a moving journey through the life and music of Keith Donald. A beautiful and engaging production, underpinned by a narrative bursting with honesty and a performance delivery of the highest quality". — Arts Council Northern Ireland

This event is part of Foyle Film Festival 2025.